


The White Thestral Gift Exchange

by pipisafoat



Series: Remus's Sevens (part of the larger Harry Granger universe) [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Christmas, Duelling, Gen, House Elves, Presents, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28095021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipisafoat/pseuds/pipisafoat
Summary: Remus spends part of his holidays with his sevens.
Series: Remus's Sevens (part of the larger Harry Granger universe) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/658178
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	The White Thestral Gift Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> There is another regular installment of R7 still in progress, but I wanted to post this short piece now so it could be enjoyed during the holidays. It contains no spoilers for the missing story.
> 
> See end notes for content notes/warnings.

_Tutor Lupin,_

_On behalf of all of your sevens, please allow me to invite you to a multi-holiday party at Jack’s family home, O’Neill Manor, on 23 December from four o’clock until. The only guests are you, Sam, Sam’s boyfriend Teal’c, Elizabeth, Cam, Sue, Sarah, and Amanda. Jack and I will be in residence, of course, and his parents will join us for the meal and gifts alone._

_We plan to do what’s known as a White Thestral gift exchange, where each person brings one wrapped gift and leaves with a different gift. Jack’s family will not accept any additional gifts._

_Jack’s father would appreciate a reply (to me or Jack) by 20 December to plan the dinner accordingly. We all hope to see you there._

_Yours,_

_Daniel Jackson (et al)_

Remus read the invitation four times before shaking his head to clear it and setting the parchment aside. Was it a good idea to go? He thought about calling Emily to get her opinion, but he was certain he knew what she would say. “Go to the party, Remus Lupin! Enjoy yourself! Who cares if they’re your students - so are my kids!”

Then again, Harry and Hermione were his … his … they were some level of familial relationship to Remus. He didn’t feel that way about his sevens, though he was closer to them than to any other non-Granger student he’s had.

A second owl tapped at his window, and he let it in, relieved it of its small burden, and offered it some bacon. The barn owl hooted happily and devoured the treat quickly before settling on the back of Remus’s chair. He hoped he didn’t forget and lean back, squashing the poor creature and likely getting pecked for his troubles. He unrolled the small scroll and began to read:

_Tutor Lupin,_

_Jack reminded me to tell you about our Celebration of the Lost, which we tend to do at the end of the evening when most of the others have left. We celebrate our dead by sharing stories, lighting candles, and praying for their souls - those who hold those beliefs, anyway._

_We would both welcome you there, though we understand if you choose not to stay for it._

_Yours,_

_Daniel Jackson_

He sighed and reached for his mobile. Even if he knew what Emily was going to say, maybe it would help to hear it from her, and maybe Sam would have something to add. The poor owl was in for a long wait for its response.

* * *

He appeared with a pop in an ornate receiving room and was greeted by a house elf. “Binny welcomes you to O’Neill Manor, sir!” the creature squeaked in a high pitched voice. “Please, follow Binny to the parlor.” One of Remus’s steps was about four of Binny’s; he had to consciously slow his stride to match the house elf’s pace, even with Binny scurrying along quickly. The ballroom they were crossing was very grand; he was glad he’d chosen his favorite dress robes, Gryffindor red with gold piping, for the party that evening. Daniel’s short note of _Wear whatever you’re comfortable in, but Jack and I will be dressed for the occasion_ hadn’t been overly helpful. 

A couple not much older than Remus rose as he entered the parlor. He could easily see Jack in the man’s build and the woman’s face; his parents, then, and Remus’s hosts for the party. How formal were they, he wondered, trying to work out how to approach them. Before he had a chance to make a mistake, however, two laughing young men came in behind him.

“Tutor Lupin!” Jack exclaimed, bouncing on his toes in a robe that matched Remus’s close to perfectly. “You came!”

“I told you he would,” Daniel said, clamping a hand on Jack’s shoulder and stilling the younger man. His robes were Ravenclaw blue with silver piping, an exact stylistic match to Jack’s, probably purchased at the same time.

“Boys,” the eldest man said with light censure in his voice. Jack nodded and stepped forward.

“Tutor Remus Lupin, may I present my mother, Scion Gemella Smith O’Neill, and my father, Mr Alan O’Neill, and may I also welcome you to our family home, O’Neill Manor? Should you require anything during your time here, the elf Binny has volunteered to assist you; you need only call his name.”

Rather formal, then, and with the Smith heir in the family, it made sense. Smiths tended toward the formal. “Scion Smith O’Neill, Mr O’Neill, it is a pleasure to be within the walls of your lovely home,” he said with a deep bow. “Your son is a wonderful addition to my students and my friends.”

Jack’s mother curtsied shallowly but significantly deeper than their respective statuses required. “It is a pleasure to have you here, Tutor Lupin. Please, refer to us both informally during this visit.”

Conditional informality was a common Slytherin thing, though Harry had found it to be extremely useful as well. Remus doubted he would ever see the O’Neills outside of this day, and he didn’t mind the limitation on the familiarity. “And you must call me Remus. All of you,” he said, including the young men. Daniel nodded his head shallowly - lack of respect, hidden status, or unfamiliarity with the forms? Remus decided it must be unfamiliarity - and Jack more deeply.

A chime sounded. “That should be Sam and Teal’c,” Jack said.

“Have a seat, Remus,” Gemella said, and it sounded more like an order than an offer. He sat precisely where she was pointing; she smiled at him with some amusement. “Have you met Teal’c before?”

“I have not.”

Jack grinned. “You’ll like him,” he promised.

However, only Sam Carter came into the room, led by a different house elf. “Thank you, Alfie,” she said, patting the elf on the head. Alfie practically bloomed under her touch, puffing out his chest and striding from the room self-importantly. Jack chuckled.

“I can’t believe my elf has a crush on you,” he said to her. She laughed even as she turned toward his parents and curtsied.

“Mr and Mrs O’Neill, thank you for hosting us again. I must extend Teal’c’s apologies; he has taken ill and chose to stay home, both to recover and to prevent anyone else’s future illness. I visited my healer on the way over to confirm that I am not contagious in any way.”

Gemella smiled lightly. “Thank you for that, Samantha. Why don’t you have a seat - Daniel, you as well - while the others arrive?”

One by one, they trickled in: Elizabeth in a deep forest green robe with gold accents, Sue wearing a muggle pantsuit in pinstriped black, Cam in gleaming white robes with an ornate design in black, Sarah in a deep purple muggle evening gown, and Amanda in deep purple robes the same shade as Sarah’s gown, to both of their shock and amusement. Remus watched silently as each greeted the O’Neill parents semiformally, each was assigned to a different house elf for their stay, and each showed their comfort with the formalities expected of them by Gemella. They had clearly all been there before. 

Daniel turned and leaned around Sam to speak to Remus, though he was clearly including her in the conversation. “Remus, have you ever seen a house elf with romantic feelings for a human?”

“I can’t say that I have,” he answered, grinning at what he thought was coming next.

“Well, now you have,” Daniel told him, patting Sam on the shoulder. “Alfie is Jack’s personal elf, but last year he got so distracted by Sam that he forgot to follow Jack’s orders and brought Sam unsolicited flowers instead.”

Remus snorted very inelegantly. “Sam?” he asked, not entirely sure what he wanted to ask her but completely certain her side of the story would make her pink face turn beet red.

“I … It’s not like I’m encouraging him!” she said, face reddening. “It’s Jack’s fault for letting him work for me every time I’m here.”

Daniel grinned. “He requests it for his Yule gift every year. You can’t say no to a Yule gift request.”

Sam’s face was bright red as she responded, “Yes, you can! It’s easy! Just say no!”

“And crush the poor guy’s hopes and dreams?” Remus couldn’t resist asking.

Daniel laughed loudly, drawing the attention of most in the room. He seemed not to notice - or perhaps not to care - as he said to Remus, “If her dating Teal’c hasn’t scared the tiny suitor away, nothing will.”

“Are you talking about Alfie?” Jack asked. Remus and Sam both nodded. “Oh, leave the little guy alone. He’s an elf in love with a real girl—”

“Real woman,” Sam corrected.

“Real woman, sorry, and his _woman_ is taken by a full-size man. Cut him some slack.” Jack dropped onto the sofa at a 90 degree angle to the one Remus, Sam, and Daniel were on, setting a hand on Daniel’s arm as he sat. “Remus, Binny is … well, he’s afraid of werewolves and trying to overcome that fear. His cousin was mauled as a child.”

He’s never known as much about a home’s elves as he does about the O’Neill elves, and it’s been about thirty minutes since he arrived. Compared to the months he spent at the Potter estates, this is … well, it’s fascinating, honestly. “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you know who did it?”

“Greyback,” Jack spits, and Remus feels his hair stand on end even as he bears his teeth without quite meaning to.

“Binny!” he called, calming himself as much as possible in the brief moment before the elf appeared.

“Yes, Tutor Lupin, sir?”

“Binny, Jack told me what Greyback did to your cousin. I wanted you to know that he is the one who attacked me, as well.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming the rage that wanted to consume him. This wasn’t the ideal timing for such a conversation, two days after the full moon, but it was what it was. “I intend to see him brought to justice for both acts, not to mention the countless other atrocities he’s committed.”

“Justice, sir, or revenge?”

The elf was smart to ask that. “Justice, of the legal variety if possible.”

“And if it is not possible?”

Remus leaned in and whispered in Binny’s ear, “Then I will see him die for his crimes.”

Binny was shaking when Remus leaned back. Had he gone too far with his words, or was it from having a werewolf that close to him? Remus was about to apologize when Binny rushed forward and latched on to Remus’s shin. “The great Tutor Lupin sir would do that for Binny’s Dante?”

Jack whistled lowly, clearly impressed.

“I would do it for Dante, Binny, and I would do it for you, for your fear, and I would do it for me, and I would do it for everyone else who has suffered because of him.”

“May Binny call you Master Lupin, sir?”

Remus looked up, unsure of how to answer. Thankfully, Gemella responded from her chair nearby. “Binny, you may call him that only when in the company of any of these humans or no humans at all, but never around other humans. Do you understand?”

Binny nodded furiously, eyes welling with tears, arms tightening around Remus’s knee. “Thank you, Madam Smith O’Neill, thank you, Great Master Lupin, sir!”

“Binny, I haven’t done anything, yet.”

“But you will, Great Master Lupin, sir! Binny knows because Alfie’s mum said so. She said you would make a promise today that you would keep, even though it would take many years.”

Jack whistled again. “Loralie has prophetic visions, Remus. And Binny has never called anyone great before.”

A house elf with prophetic visions? Only in Jack’s house. Remus closed his eyes and leaned back against the sofa, grateful when Daniel jumped in to change the subject and draw attention away from Remus with Jack’s help. A small hand tapping his knee brought his head back up, though.

“Does the Great Master Lupin Sir need anything from Binny?”

“No, Binny, I called you to talk to you about Greyback, that’s all.”

The elf nodded and squeezed Remus’s calf before releasing him and stepping back. “Then Binny will return to the kitchen, sir, but you can call on me any time. Elves is understanding that the Great Master Lupin Sir is Binny’s priority today.”

Ah - one more use of typical elvish dialect. The O’Neill elves seemed particularly well educated, though. “Thank you, Binny.”

Pop!

“On that note,” Alan said into the silence that followed, “I believe Gemella and I will leave the rest of you to your party. We will join you for dinner.” As they swept out, her on his elbow, Jack leapt to his feet.

“Who wants to duel?” he asked, and everyone else stood, Remus included. “Remus, how many of us can you take on at once?”

He blinked. “I … what?”

Jack grinned and bounced in place once again. “How many of us can you take on at one time?” he repeated. “I’ll even let you pick who. Hell, I’ll join you, and you build a team to go against us.”

He’d never dueled with any of them on his side. Jack was probably not his most compatible choice, but he was the one with the most raw power. It would be interesting. “Me and Jack against … The girls. All of them.”

Jack’s grin widened, but it was Daniel who responded. “This is going to be fun. Okay, same rules we use at Hogwarts?”

Everyone quickly agreed, and it was thus that the excited group followed Daniel through the manor home and outside into the snow.

“Stay within the ward lines—”

“They’ll glow blue if you get within a few feet of them,” Jack told Remus.

“But otherwise, the grounds are yours.”

“Grounds only! Stay away from the stables and pasture,” Jack warned them all. “You know Plexia will bite if she gets hexed.”

Abraxas? Horse? It didn’t really matter, Remus decided; he didn’t want to get bitten.

“Teams have two minutes to confer.”

Jack opened his mouth, but Remus cast a hasty muffliato before he could speak. “You know the grounds. We both know them. Who of them knows the grounds best?”

“Sam, hands down, but Elizabeth will adapt quickly. We need to take them out first.”

Sam’s style matched Jack’s, but she lacked his raw power, but she was an incredible shield buster. Jack, however, was getting good at dueling without relying on a shield. Elizabeth was sneaky, could aim at anything she pleased and hit it, but wasn’t strong enough or good enough with Sam’s method to break either of their shields. Sarah and Amanda were both stronger than average, but neither could compare with Elizabeth’s cunning. Sue, however, was one to watch when it came to sneaky spell choices. “I’ll do my best to attract their fire. You draw Sam away and take her out. Can you cast silently and shout something else at the same time?”

“Never tried. You mean a different spell?”

“Yes, or directions to me without it interrupting your fight.”

Jack grinned. “Can do. Once I take out Sam, I’ll draw fire and you get Elizabeth and Sue. From there, we can take whoever comes at us and win. Is that the plan?”

Remus matched his young friend’s grin. “For now. We’ll see what happens when the war begins.”

“Fifteen seconds!” Daniel yelled.

“Go left. Find cover. I’ll go right and do the same. Now!” Remus dropped the muffliato charm and darted away without waiting for a reply, trusting in Jack to do the same.

The duel - if it could even be called a duel with these unbalanced numbers - started out exactly as Jack and Remus had planned. Remus strategically moved from one cover to another to draw their fire while Jack snuck up from behind and managed to knock Sam out with one curse. He whooped in satisfaction, which drew the girls’ focus to him just as planned. Remus was pleased the young man had chosen to do it in that way, easily dismissed as “Jack being Jack” rather than a “Hey, I’m here!” or something equally obvious. He concentrated on Elizabeth and managed to disarm her quickly, but she silently summoned her wand back to her hand and shouted for backup as she advanced on him.

Sue was the one who turned from Jack, playing right into their plan, but Remus hadn’t calculated his odds having two Slytherins out for his blood at the same time. Several curses hit home, but he kept fighting as though he didn’t have a shark fin coming out of his back, damp hands, and (most disturbingly) fangs instead of teeth. He couldn’t afford to take the time to cancel anything, not if he wanted to maintain his wandless shield and attack them back. He kept waiting for the focus of battle to sink in, but every time it threatened, he remembered how much fun he was having, and it faded back. Probably for the best. He wasn’t sure he’d remember his own rules in a battle mindset.

Someone cried out, far away but loud, and Elizabeth turned to look. Remus stunned her and tied her up in ropes before dropping his shield and advancing on Sue, casting silently through wand and left hand at the same time. She hesitated in the face of his advance. It was a simple matter to stun and tie her as well before racing in the direction of the shout that had turned his tide. “Jack!” he cried.

“Here!” the younger man responded, and Remus rounded the corner of a small building just in time to throw a shield in front of his teammate. Jack pulled his cast back at the last second, unable to cast through someone else’s shield. It would have bounced off and hit him. “Thanks,” he panted.

Remus literally slid in beside Jack, protected behind his expanded shield. He stood up from the snow pile he’d landed in as Sarah and Amanda stopped casting, their wands dipping slightly. “Can you hear me?” he asked, barely breathing, moving his mouth as little as possible. Jack nodded beside him. “Train your wand on Sarah. Do not move it. When you’re sure, look away from her, talk fake strategy with me loud enough they can hear it but only barely. When I say now, close your eyes and cast a stunner.”

Silence for maybe two seconds, which Remus used to train his own wand on Amanda, then Jack started to speak at exactly the right volume. “I’m thinking I take Amanda and you take Sarah. Drop the shield, draw them apart, and take them out one at a time.”

“Now,” Remus breathed, closing his eyes, dropping his shield, and immediately firing a blaze of light through his hand, followed by a stunner through his wand. He waited a couple seconds, then opened his eyes. Jack was blinking furiously, wand still leveled at … nothing. The girls were both on the ground.

“I should have warned you not to open your eyes right away,” Remus said conversationally, holstering his wand. “The light lingers for about two seconds.”

“I can see that,” Jack replied, rubbing at his eyes. “It’s all I can see.”

“It’ll fade soon.”

Daniel and Cam were standing nearby, rubbing their own eyes, but soon Daniel stopped. Still blinking too quickly, he ran over and grabbed Jack in a tight hug. “You did it!”

“Remus did it. I was just along for the ride,” Jack said.

Daniel released his best friend; Cam moved in for a handshake. Daniel approached Remus. “Hug?”

Why not? He was a friend rather than tutor that day. He opened his arms, and Daniel squeezed him tightly if shortly. “Well done,” he praised. Remus felt his cheeks warm.

“Teamwork,” he replied shortly, accepting Cam’s handshake. “I couldn’t have done it without Jack.”

“Let’s revive the girls and then you and me duel, Daniel,” Cam proposed.

* * *

Dinner was not the formal affair Remus had expected, and nor was the White Thestral gift exchange. While there had been place cards at the table, three people had switched seats, and it seemed only three were in the ‘proper’ place, status-wise: Gemella to the right of the Dagda seat, Alan to the left, and Remus to Gemella’s right. Across from Remus sat Jack, the youngest of the group. Daniel was seated on Jack’s other side, likely due more to their best friend status than to Daniel’s age as oldest, as across from him and beside Remus sat Sam. Sue and Elizabeth were next to each other, then Cam and Amanda, with Sarah at the foot of the table. It was almost along Hogwarts House lines, Remus realized, for the young adults and himself, at least. He wasn’t sure what Houses Gemella and Alan had been in, though Smiths tended toward Hufflepuff.

If the seating was unconventional, so was the observation of their religion. Alan insisted on everyone dishing up the Dagda’s servings regardless of title. When Remus asked during the meal, Alan smiled and said that were there muggles present, they would participate just as the magical did.

The food, however, was amazing, and there was plenty of it in a variety of options. Binny and the other kitchen elves must have been working hard all day long to accomplish the feast. It kept everyone eating and conversation to a minimum until finally, Gemella laid down her silverware, the last to do so.

“Shall we move to the parlor once more?” she asked, and a chorus of positivity reached her. Remus smiled to himself. It seemed the younger guests were eager to get to the gift exchange. The table stood as one, Gemella, Alan, Jack, Cam, and Amanda all pausing to bow toward the head plate.

Jack was the last to arrive in the parlor, having detoured upstairs to retrieve his and Daniel’s presents. The others were pulling their gifts out of their pockets and restoring them from their shrunken size when Jack jumped over the back of a sofa and landed neatly beside his best friend. “Shall we?”

Gemella shot him a Look, then smoothed her face into a smile as she surveyed the room. “Perhaps one of us should explain how this goes. Remus, have you been a part of a White Thestral exchange before?”

He had barely heard of it. “I never have.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Jack said, grinning across the room at Remus. “In the end, you have a random gift that you didn’t bring.”

“Jack,” Daniel said exasperatedly, “remember that talk we had about you and explanations?”

Jack grinned. “I didn’t explain anything.”

“That’s kind of my point.” Daniel rolled his eyes; Sam and Amanda both giggled. Remus was completely certain he’d never heard Sam giggle before. Laugh, yes, but never giggle. Daniel turned his attention to Remus and, once he had eye contact, continued speaking. “We first send all of our gifts into a pile in the center of the room.” He drew his wand from his sleeve and gently floated his gift over to the area he’d indicated. The others all did the same, some banishing at high speed and some floating them slowly. Remus used a slow float for his, setting it carefully down as though it were breakable. “Next, we draw numbers from a stocking, which are the order in which we take our turns. On your turn, you can either select a gift from the pile or steal an already opened gift from someone else. If your gift gets stolen, you take a second turn right away. Once everyone has been, the person who went first has the opportunity to steal a gift from someone.

“We don’t allow any gift to be stolen more than three times - so that’s a total of four people having it in their possession. If you end up with the gift you brought at the end, you have to steal someone else’s - nobody goes home with what they brought. Finally, you have two options when choosing a gift: either you’re blindfolded or you nominate someone else to pick the gift for you.”

It sounded complicated, honestly, but Remus was sure he would have fun. “Okay,” he said simply.

“As the only one here who hasn’t played before, you can choose a number first,” Gemella decreed, floating a tasteful dark green and burgundy stocking to Remus. He reached in and pulled out a slip of parchment. 1. Gemella floated the stocking to Remus’s left, and Elizabeth drew a number. This continued until Gemella drew the last number, looked at it, nodded, and floated the stocking back to the mantel behind her. “Who goes first?” she asked.

Remus gestured with his slip of parchment. “I suppose that’s me.”

“Blindfold yourself or nominate someone else,” Daniel reminded him.

“Can I nominate someone not in this room?”

Everyone looked around at each other, then began to nod. Soon, Alan spoke. “It looks unanimous. Go right ahead, Remus.”

“Binny!” The house elf appeared with a small pop. “Binny, I’d like you to help me with something. Can you choose one of the gifts in the pile for me?”

Binny nodded seriously. “Great Master Lupin Sir, is the gift for you?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then Binny will pick the best gift.”

“Binny, please don’t use your magic to find out what’s inside,” Gemella requested gently.

Binny nodded again. “Then Binny will pick the nicest wrapped gift.”

Most of the gifts looked to be wrapped by magic, to Remus’s eye, so he wasn’t sure how the elf was going to make that determination. Still, Binny walked over to the pile and used his magic to move some of the gifts, making two piles. Finally, he came to one wrapped in dark blue with silver reindeer printed on it. He nodded emphatically and levitated it into Remus’s waiting hands.

“Thank you, Binny.”

“Binny, if you’d like to stay and watch us, you may,” Alan said quietly. Binny’s eyes watered as he nodded his head hard, ears flapping. “Have a seat by Remus.” The elf practically jumped over the gifts in his haste to get to his new spot, seated just beside Remus’s right foot.

Elizabeth slid further to the left. “Here, Binny, sit between us,” she offered. A large tear slid down the elf’s cheek as he stood, checking in with an encouraging Gemella before taking the offered seat. “Okay, whose gift was this?”

Daniel raised a hand. “Thank you, Binny, for the compliment,” he said. Another tear slid down the elf’s face.

“Yours was the nicest wrapped gift that wasn’t done with magic,” Binny explained.

Remus turned the box in his hands. “This wasn’t done with magic?”

Daniel shook his head. “Lots of practice living with muggles. I’m rubbish at the spell, anyway.”

Remus smiled at him. It was almost a relief to find something Daniel wasn’t good at. “It looks like the spell,” he praised.

“Thank you,” Daniel repeated. “Stop slowing us down and open it, already.” He smiled to make the order a joke; Remus smiled back and got to the business of opening it. Inside, he found a gift certificate to a muggle movie theater, which he had to explain to most of the people in the room.

“Who’s next?” Gemella asked. Jack showed off his parchment with 2 and turned to Daniel.

“I nominate you to choose a gift for me.”

“Big surprise,” Sam muttered, then turned to Remus. “He does the same thing every year. So does Daniel, nominating Jack. We ought to outlaw using the same person as you did last year.”

Daniel froze halfway to the present pile. “We could,” he said thoughtfully. 

“Let’s take a vote!” Alan said gleefully. “Raise your hand if you want to outlaw nominating the same person two years in a row.”

It was almost unanimous, Jack and Daniel being the only two who didn’t vote in favor. Jack scowled, but Daniel simply shrugged and sat back down.

“Who do I trust to pick me something good?” Jack asked, looking around the room. “Remus, you’re the only other Gryffindor in here. Why don’t you pick me something?”

“Sure,” he agreed easily. He patted Binny on the knee as he stood, eying the gifts on his way over. There was only one wrapped in Slytherin colors, so of course that’s the one he grabbed for Jack. The young man rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

“Remind me not to choose you in the future.”

“Jack, don’t choose me in the future.”

Jack snorted. “Let me guess, Sue?”

“Guilty as charged.”

Jack unwrapped the gift and grinned. He lifted out four pillar candles and sniffed each one of them, making appreciative noises at the scents he found. “Orange, pine, cedar, and cinnamon,” he explained.

Next was Gemella, who stole the candles from her son. “You know I’ll use them and you won’t,” she said teasingly.

“And you know you would have taken them from me eventually anyway.”

“Yes, well, this way I don’t have to feel guilty.” Gemella’s laugh reminded Remus of a small bell.

Jack’s turn was next, to replace his stolen gift; he chose a small package in Hufflepuff paper. “Same every year,” he told Remus, showing off the Honeyduke’s gift certificate and thanking Cam.

Sue allowed Alan to choose a brown gift bag with green trees on it, which turned out to be a card inviting the recipient to Amanda’s family’s Italian estate for a couple of days, including a ride on their magic carpet. Sam immediately stole Amanda’s offering, and Sue asked Amanda to choose the replacement. Elizabeth had placed a pair of snowflake earrings in a light purple bag with gold reindeer on it. “They’re enchanted so the snow that falls on you stays frozen,” the Head Girl explained.

Unfortunately for Sue, Amanda used her turn to steal the earrings. Sue then let Jack select the one gift Remus had been waiting to see opened: his own. She drew out two chocolate frogs, one at a time, very slowly, from the small golden box, before unfolding and reading the piece of muggle printer paper within. Remus had worked together with Sam Granger to design a gift certificate for three hours of his own tutoring time in any subject.

Sarah, of course, stole Remus’s gift certificate immediately, leaving Sue to once again get a gift. This time, she rolled her eyes before blindfolding herself. “Maybe this time I’ll actually get to keep what I unwrap,” she said as she felt each present. She finally decided on a larger box with red and green diagonal stripes, in which she found Gemella’s gift, a pair of mittens with protective runes embroidered on the cuffs and enchantments for grip and perfect fit. To her joy, nobody stole the mittens the entire rest of the game.

Cam stole Remus’s certificate from Sarah, leaving only one more possible steal for that gift before it was ineligible to trade hands. Sarah made him choose her replacement, a red box with a gold bow from Jack containing a gift certificate to Flourish and Blotts. 

On Alan’s turn, he made the final steal of Remus’s gift. “I’ll owl you after the holidays,” the older man promised. Cam stole Amanda’s gift from Sam, looking smug at his acquisition of the Italy trip and magic carpet ride. Sam in turn stole Daniel’s movie theater gift certificate from Remus, who considered blindfolding himself to choose his next gift - he was among friends, he could do it, he … couldn’t do it - before asking Gemella to choose for him. She selected a box wrapped in green paper with Santa print and handed it over with a wink. Remus opened it to find that Alan had picked out a beautiful dark blue scarf enchanted to keep the wearer at a comfortable temperature no matter if he were inside or outside.

Elizabeth named Daniel as her chooser almost immediately, clearly not even considering blindfolding herself. The gift he handed her, brought by Sarah, turned out to be a gift certificate to Madam Puddifoot’s in Hogsmeade. The Head Girl blushed slightly as she tucked it away, clearly certain that neither Daniel nor Remus would take it from her. Remus wondered if the rumors about her and the Czech Ravenclaw were true - Zelenka, that was his name.

Finally, Daniel made a show of looking at everyone’s gifts before laughing and summoning the last gift in the pile. From Sam, the silver package with a dark blue ribbon contained a matched set of three Ravenclaw-colored notebooks. “You can change their colors to any House with a tap of your wand,” she explained with a laugh, “but something tells me you’ll leave them as they are. They’re each enchanted to be visible only to you and anyone you’re holding hands with at that moment.”

Daniel’s eyes grew wide. “Privacy journals.”

Sam nodded. “I figured anyone at Hogwarts would definitely have use for them.”

Daniel nodded, too. “I … yes. Yes, these are fantastic. Thank you.”

“Remus?” Jack asked.

“Yes?”

“Did you want to steal anyone else’s gift?” the youngest reminded him. “Since you went first, you’re allowed to.”

He thought about the journals, about how much use Harry and Hermione could get out of them, but Daniel was hunched almost protectively over them, not meeting Remus’s gaze. “No, I’m quite happy with this scarf,” he said honestly. He could always buy the kids their own journals later; he’d let Daniel keep this set.

Gifts in hand, the group of teenagers drifted to one end of the room, and Remus watched them exchange hugs and handshakes as, one by one, they drifted to the receiving room and apparated home. Soon, it was just Remus, Daniel, Cam, and the O’Neills left.

“Will you be joining us?” Gemella asked somberly.

“I thought I would,” Remus replied, feeling a bit cautious about the whole thing. He hadn’t realized Cam was staying.

“You are more than welcome to,” Alan said. “Friends and family are always invited to share their losses with us this night.”

Remus nodded. “I’m honored.” 

“Then let’s go to the ritual room and begin.”

The ritual room was small, just comfortable for the six of them. It had several large windows dominating one wall, but it was dark outside, so the room was lit by a low floating chandelier of candles. Jack crossed to the chest of drawers beneath the middle window and opened the second drawer of five. “If you require a scented candle, check the drawer beneath this one,” the young man said softly, looking at Remus. It seemed Cam had done this before, but Daniel’s clear familiarity with the room was no surprise. The prefect opened a closet and carefully pulled out an intricate lace altar cloth, which he handed silently to Gemella to place on the altar. She knelt to do so, curtsying to the altar - to the Dagda, Remus corrected himself silently - as she rose.

“We use the altar, but we do not expect anyone else to follow our religion during this ritual,” Alan said quietly. “Daniel does not follow our faith, but Cameron does.”

Cameron? Oh, right, Cam was a nickname. He wondered if Jack would be addressed by his true name, though he couldn’t remember what that name was. He should probably pay more attention to his contracts, though there were lots of names on that one.

Or he should pay more attention to what was going on around him, he realized, watching as Gemella crossed to the chest of drawers and drew out seven candles. Alan drew three, Jack one, and Cam two. “As many as you want to honor,” Daniel whispered. “You don’t have to discuss any you don’t want to.” With that, the young man crossed and selected six. Remus’s turn.

He stared at the candles and took his time in making his selection, though he was aware of the eyes on his back. Red unscented for James. Black for Sirius, both for its symbolism and for the boy’s name. Red for Peter, as well, but a taller, thinner candle. Light blue for his mother, dark blue for his father. He hesitated, then became the only person to open the next lower drawer, which was absolutely loaded with scented candles. It took some time, but he found a light purple candle with a sweet floral scent for Lily. He hesitated once more, then took a bright green unscented candle to represent Harry. To represent the time he lost with the boy. He closed both drawers and returned silently to the group.

Gemella smiled sadly at him, then crossed the room to kneel before the alter once more. Of her seven candles, she placed six on the altar and, still holding the seventh, waved her hand over the altar’s new candles to light them. She bowed her head, clearly in prayer, and remained for a long moment before rising and turning toward the group. However, she stopped in the center of the room and sank gracefully to the floor to sit cross-legged.

Alan lit all three of his candles on the altar before joining his wife on the floor. Jack’s one candle also went on the altar. Neither of Cam’s did, though he stopped to say a prayer before joining the group. Daniel hesitated at the altar, didn’t kneel, but lit four. Remus almost tripped on the stone floor as he approached the altar, unaccountably nervous. He wasn’t sure who to burn where.

Just stop and think, he told himself firmly. His parents had followed Dagda. Harry was a Christian; his candle didn’t belong on a pagan altar. Sirius had rebelled against his family’s religion before entering Hogwarts. James had followed the old ways, though, and so had Peter. Lily had been a mixture of her Christian upbringing and her husband’s religion. He wasn’t sure where to put her. With her son, he decided suddenly, and he lit the three on the altar wandlessly and silently.

When he turned to the group on the floor, he found nobody staring at him except Daniel, who looked away immediately. There was a spot waiting for him between Cam and Gemella; he sat as gracefully as he could.

“I would like to start,” Cam said quietly. “I’m not able to stay for long this year. But I wanted to remember my brother Larry and my cousin Algernon, who both died to Death Eaters a decade ago.

“Larry was twelve years older than me but always had time to play with his baby brother. Algernon made the best apple pies in the entire Mitchell clan. I love them, and I know they loved me.”

“May the gods smile on their spirits,” Gemella said at the same volume.

Remus bowed his head and wondered who he would pray to, if he felt the need to pray. He never thought about his beliefs anymore, not unless he was surrounded by the old ways. Even the Grangers’ Christianity didn’t bring out the thoughts.

“I wish I could stay—”

“If you must go, you must go,” Alan said gently. “Thank you for sharing your family with us.”

“Thank you for allowing me,” Cam answered. He stood, hesitated. “I’ll see you at school.” His smile was sad, but it included Remus effortlessly.

Once Cam was gone, Alan spoke. “I light candles each year for my parents and for the son who is with them now as he never could be in life. Mother and Father died before Charlie was born, more casualties of the war. Jack, do you remember them?”

Jack shook his head silently.

“They knew you as a baby, as a toddler, even as a young boy before their murders. My only consolation is that neither of them had to live without the other.”

“I feel that way about my parents, sometimes,” Daniel said, staring at his lap. “Then I remember that they left me to live without them. I know it wasn’t their choice, but still. I can get so mad at them for leaving me behind.”

Did the young man mean he wished he’d died with them? Remus made a mental note to keep an eye on him, to check in on his mental health, through the rest of the year.

“I miss Charlie,” Jack whispered, tears running unchecked down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sweetheart, you’re not to blame,” Gemella said fiercely. “Nobody is to blame. Your brother’s death was an accident.”

Jack nodded silently. It was clear he didn’t believe his mother’s words. Alan reached over and rubbed Jack’s back; the boy leaned over until he was in his father’s arms. Remus couldn’t believe he’d been invited to something so private. It explained Jack’s protectiveness over Cam, if they’d shared this moment in the past.

“I don’t wish to speak this time,” Gemella announced quietly. “Remus, did you want to say anything?”

He nodded. “I lit this candle,” he indicated the black pillar, “for my childhood friend Sirius.” A quick glance around the room showed questions on most faces, though Daniel’s showed understanding. “Because of his last name.” Understanding, and fear on Gemella. “He was a good friend, a great friend. A fun boy to be around. Deeply trusted. I consider him dead, killed by the adult Black. And I … I miss my friend. My friends. James and Peter,” he gestured toward the altar, “and Lily.” He indicated the scented candle before him. “And the decade of Harry’s life that I was forced to miss.” He pointed to the green candle. “All victims of Black. All I had in life.” He let silence fall on the group then.

They sat quietly for something close to five minutes, Remus thought, before Jack pulled out of his father’s arms and stood. Without a word, he disapparated. Daniel glanced around the circle.

“Go,” Gemella said kindly. Daniel nodded, stood, and disapparated himself.

“Thank you for sharing with us, Remus,” Alan said quietly. The man had visible tears, but his posture was erect and his voice unwavering. “Were you done?”

“Yes.” He didn’t feel like he had anything to say about his parents.

“Then allow me to walk you to the receiving room.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mentions of death/dead characters, characters coping with loss, blame for untimely death, etc  
> NO on screen death or ghosts


End file.
